Events

Lynden’s popular Annual Lighted Christmas Parade is this Saturday, and the weekend is full of fun events you won’t want to miss! The 25th Annual Parade is sponsored by Edaleen Dairy, and is put on by the Lynden Chamber of Commerce. Whether this is your first time or you’ve been to all 25, you’ll be glad you went!

The below clip is from a few years ago by Lynden Tribune, to give you just a hint of what you’ll find at the Parade:

A few tips for this year’s Lighted Christmas Parade:

arrive early and allow extra time for parking — the parade seems to be more popular this year, and with moderate temperatures in the forecast it should be busy! Front Street will be closed from around 3:00pm onward so getting around town will take extra time.

dress warm (of course!) and dry — there is potential rain in the forecast (which is certainly no reason to miss this awesome parade), so a raincoat layer and umbrella on hand is a good idea.

check out one of the ‘hot spots’ provided by North County Christ the King Church — either in the Fairway Center parking lot by the church, or at the Windmill downtown, grab a cup of hot chocolate and hand warmers to stay warm!

keep a close eye on kids — while this is a wonderful event for children, it can be difficult for the drivers of the giant tractors and floats to see well, so be sure to keep your kids off the street and in your reach for the best experience!

Editor’s Note: Bailee Mulder is a Lynden native and journalism student at the University of Oregon. You’ll see posts from her throughout the summer on ourLynden, and we’ll soon post an article to fully introduce our readers to Bailee. Welcome, Bailee!

The Fourth of July is a holiday loved by Lyndenites, where we celebrate America’s independence and our freedoms with family and friends in our community. Some go on camping trips, others enjoy backyard barbeques, many do fireworks, but however you decide to celebrate, a holiday spent with the ones we love on a beautiful day is always something special.

Wondering where to buy fireworks, the regulations on fireworks or where to celebrate on the Fourth of July holiday? Here’s your full guide to Independence Day in Lynden.

Fireworks: Where to buy

Lynden has four fireworks stands that will be open through the Fourth of July holiday, all on the west side of town.

The first stand can be found just past Safeway heading south on the Guide Meridian. Another stand is set up next to O’Reilly’s on Kok Road – a fundraiser for the Lynden Pioneer Museum that’s been going for about 15 years.

It was Lynden’s biggest winter storm in decades.

For a week straight, snowfall pounded Lynden area like no other in the state. Freezing rain layered dangerous ice on nearly everything. Strong winds brought bone-chilling cold that piled snow in large drifts and took down ice-laden power lines and trees.

And the Lynden community responded in a big way.

As conditions worsened, residents stayed home when possible. City crews plowed roads around the clock, but it wasn’t enough. But seemingly every tractor in the area — large and small, new and old — was re-purposed to clear snow from roads and driveways.

Nick Snydar worked around the clock in Snydar Farms’ tractor to clear roads and pull drivers from the ditch.

Nick Snydar of Snydar Farms Custom Farming, pictured in the John Deere tractor above, was very active all week volunteering his time and resources. “Just did what I could to help the local farmers and neighbors we serve in the county.”

With his large tractor, Snydar focused mainly on county roads surrounding Lynden. “I know what a struggle it is for milk trucks and feed trucks to get around to the farms and the county snowplow trucks couldn’t keep up!” He even pulled out a stuck snowplow, in addition to Sheriff’s vehicle, other large farming equipment, and around a dozen cars.

The Lynden Chamber of Commerce members are hosting their annual “Dutch Treat” city-wide trick-or-treating for kids for Halloween today from 3-5pm. Look for the orange balloon outside of participating members!

Inaugural event will be fun-filled for all ages

The Lynden Clubhouse of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County is holding their inaugural Day for Kids event on Saturday, September 17th starting at 5:00 PM. The event is a gathering for Lynden-area families to have fun, get to know the Boys & Girls Club, and maybe even leave with a sweet raffle prize.

Event tickets are $5 and can be purchased online in advance or at the door. Barbecue lunch is included, as well as a ticket to enter one of several raffles (one additional raffle ticket will be given for each $2 donated to the club at the event). Raffle prizes include an Edaleen Dairy punch card, Dave’s Sports Shop fishing gift basket, a beach house getaway, Nuthouse Grill gift card, E2 Fitness membership, Lynden Skateway $100 gift card, a vehicle detailing basket from S&H Auto parts, and a personalized t-shirt from Bellingham Baby Co.

A young Lynden club member does art during After School club recently.

The Lynden Clubhouse is located at 8800 Bender Road, in the Sonlight Community Church building. The Day for Kids will feature fun games such as tug-of-war, giant jenga, dodgeball, 3-legged race, 4-square and more. Families with kids of all ages are welcome to the event, while the Clubhouse’s regular weekday hours are designed for students in 1st grade and higher.

Lynden Clubhouse members pause from active play to enjoy a moment of friendship.

Boys & Girls Club throughout the year

As another school year begins, it’s a great time to learn a bit about the Lynden Boys & Girls Club. The club hosts weekday ‘Early Bird’ hours from 7:00 A.M. until schools open (bus transportation is provided), and After School hours from 2:30 to 6:30 P.M. The goal is to provide a positive environment, quality programs and lifelong learning skills for school-age youth — a safe environment for kids to have fun and be themselves.

Today is a holiday celebrated across the country with the main focus being Thankfulness. Families and friends will gather in Lynden today over tables with copious amounts of delicious food. Many with history in Lynden will make the trek home to join family here, while others will make the trek away to join family elsewhere.

Regardless of your particular circumstance this Thanksgiving, it is our hope and prayer that you can find much to be thankful for this year. It may sound strange to focus on being thankful if you’re in a season of difficulty, but it is truly like medicine for the soul.

After 25 years of serving the local community with their annual Fall Harvest Festival, today marks the last day of the final year of Stoney Ridge Farm’s October festivities. For many Lynden-area families, Stoney Ridge Farm’s fall activities have been an annual tradition synonymous with autumn and the harvest season.

Lyndenites who travel the Guide (who doesn’t!?) have surely noticed the construction and updates at Lynden Lube & Auto over the past several months. Owner Rob Heerspink and his team are excited to welcome the community to check out their fully revitalized space at their Grand Re-Opening & Open House this weekend (Saturday from 9am to 2pm).

The lobby and waiting area of the newly-remodeled Lynden Lube feels more like a boutique hotel lobby than an auto shop.Free coffee and water bottles are available in the modern-yet-comfortable space while you wait for your vehicle or your ride.

The shop, which opened in 1997, was required by the State to sell a portion of their property closest to the Guide Meridian to make room for planned future lane expansion through Lynden. “What’s funny is now that we’re done with the demolition and remodel, the State doesn’t have the widening on their current schedule anymore,” Rob shared. Nonetheless, with the major remodel behind them, Lynden Lube now has more space than ever to perform everything from basic oil changes to complete automotive and engine repair.

The building was originally a Studebaker dealer in the 1930’s, and then was home to Milt’s Market in the 60’s (Milt’s Pizza was opened behind the current Lynden Lube building).

“Our perspective is to make lemonade on lemons,” explained Rob, who took over the business with his wife Cheryl in 2009. When the State approached them, they could have chosen to simply downsize the highway-facing portion of their building, but instead used the opportunity to expand, having outgrown their previous footprint.